Combined gas-water tube hybrid heat exchanger

Abstract

A heat exchanger having a cylindrical body comprising an upper section, a lower section, a side water jacket surrounding the upper and lower sections, a top water jacket disposed atop the upper section and a gas exhaust disposed below the lower section. A water cavity is disposed substantially in the lower section while a gas cavity having a burner is disposed substantially centrally within the gas cavity. A plurality of water tubes disposed in a ring formation, connect the water cavity through the gas cavity to the top water jacket and a plurality of gas tubes also disposed in ring formations, connect the gas cavity through the water cavity to the gas exhaust. At least one of the gas tubes ring has a diameter that is greater than that of the water tubes ring.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM AND RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Ser. No. 61 / 545,385; a U.S. provisional application filed on Oct. 10, 2011 and PCT / US2012 / 048970, a PCT application filed Jul. 31, 2012. Each of said applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. The Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention is directed generally to a heat exchanger. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a combined gas and water tube heat exchanger for use with a hot water heater.[0004]2. Background Art[0005]Fin-and-tube heat exchangers of conventional hot water systems often include a helical coil tube having fins disposed on external surfaces of the coil tube. Ceramic discs may be utilized to insulate direct heat of a burner from its adjacent components, such as a fan blower and other components disposed at the exhaust of a heat exchanger housing the burner. Typically, a fin-and-tube...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a heat exchanger that can be built using simpler and less costly techniques compared to conventional gas-fired water tube heat exchangers. The heat exchanger includes a cylindrical body with water and gas tubes connected through a gas cavity, which allows for direct heat transfer from the burner to the water flow. The heat exchanger also includes a water flow path that minimizes heat loss and a gas flow path that maximizes heat recovery. The use of ceramic components is eliminated by strategically disposing the water flow paths, which reduces excessive heat build-up in components. The heat exchanger meets the objective of providing hot water to a hot water user faster and with greater efficiency.

Problems solved by technology

However, the use of a ceramic disc inside the lumen takes up valuable heat exchanger footprint, increases fabrication and installation costs and fails to harness and recover the maximum amount of energy.

Poor heat recovery through the top casting further causes an unnecessarily warm top casting, waste to the environment and unnecessarily heats up surrounding components.

Significant heat loss also occurs through the heat exchanger housing.

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